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CITY COP WITH A LOT OF HEAR T RETIRES
‘Chicken legs’ had rock star ambitions BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
Adieu: Const. Bruce Ballingall retired as of May 1 after nearly three decades with the New Westminster Police Department.
Const. Bruce Ballingall has made his mark on the Royal City during a 27-year career with the New Westminster Police Department. Ballingall turned 64 on April 29 and officially started his retirement on May 1. Policing wasn’t the first career choice for the native of Winnipeg, Man. “I wanted to be a rock star,” he said. “I was drumming with what became the Guess Who and guess you can say, I lost my focus. There was me, Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings – we weren’t called the Guess Who at the time. We were Alan and the Silvertones and the Deverons – there was two bands that became one.” Instead of becoming a rock star, Ballingall started working as a shoe buyer at Eaton’s. “A couple of my friends, their fathers were police officers. I always respected what they did,” he said. “I really wanted to be a social worker. One day I came up with this idea that as a police officer, the uniform is a really awesome tool – you can use the uniform as a tool to help people.” The Winnipeg Police Department hired
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Candidates all over the road on new bridge BY THERESA MCMANUS REPORTER tmcmanus@royalcityrecord.com
Three lanes, four lanes, as many lanes as needed – candidates are all over the road when it comes to a new Pattullo Bridge. TransLink has stated that the 75-yearold bridge is a critical route for moving people and goods, but needs to be replaced because it doesn’t meet current road design guidelines or seismic standards. The City of New Westminster is considering the replacement or rehabilitation of the bridge as part of its master transportation plan. New Westminster Liberal candidate Hector Bremner said a new bridge should
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said his party doesn’t believe that building infrastructure solves traffic problems. “I don’t believe that building a new bridge is going to decrease traffic problems or the stress on infrastructure here in New Westminster,” he said. “I do not support either the replacement or the moving of the Pattullo Bridge.” Teather said the existing Pattullo Bridge is unsafe, but it should be rehabilitated rather than replaced. “I think rehabilitating the existing structure would save money in the future,” he said. “I support two widened lanes with a ◗Bridge Page 3
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information is needed about traffic on the north and south sides of the Fraser River and a plan for dealing with traffic on the north side of the Fraser River. Bremner said public transportation needs are grossly underserved on the south side of the Fraser River. He noted that South Fraser Perimeter Road is not yet complete so the impacts of that roadway on traffic flows aren’t known. “I think that we need to understand impacts of investments on those areas before we get too concerned about building a bridge as a standalone piece of infrastructure,” he said. Green party candidate Terry Teather
have as many lanes as needed – but that doesn’t mean he’s in a hurry to see a new bridge built. “We’ve got to make a decision in the next year about that bridge. I have been very clear – I said without a proper regional plan, without a comprehensive way of addressing traffic on the north side of the Fraser River, the bridge is sort of a wasteful investment – unless it’s serving a greater purpose,” he said. “The bridge could be 15 lanes, it wouldn’t matter – you still get into Queen’s Park and it’s still residential roads.” Before any decision is reached about the Pattullo Bridge, Bremner said detailed
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